


Five Times the Incarnation of Darkness Scared Someone

by Heleentje



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Gender Dysphoria, Homophobia, Minor Original Character(s), Misogyny, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The last four in chapter four, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2014-09-26
Packaged: 2018-02-18 10:49:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2345756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heleentje/pseuds/Heleentje
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being darkness incarnate came with great powers and greater responsibilities. It also ended up scaring quite a few people. Sometimes, it was even on purpose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Higuchimon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higuchimon/gifts).



> This story is a (very belated) birthday present for Higuchimon that got out of hand. I hope you enjoy it anyway!
> 
> Notes: This particular story was briefly recounted in Walking Tall.This fic and Walking Tall do not take place in the same universe, but they do share a common past.

There were a great many things the prince, firstborn heir to a kingdom spanning most of the continent and confirmed incarnation of the life-bringing darkness that had created them all, had to do today. There were diplomatic meetings his father wanted him to sit in on and tutors waiting to meet with him. And all of those things were overridden by two simple facts: the prince was nine years old, and very very bored.

Prince Juudai had discovered the hole in the hedge just yesterday. It was hidden away by some overgrowing branches, giving the hedge the impression of solidness, and it was just large enough for a limber nine-year-old to climb through. The other side of the hedge gave out on the outskirts of one of the traders' villages that had been established near the palace long before even Juudai's father had been born. Juudai remembered the road well enough to get there unnoticed. Even his guards weren't following him! He couldn't even really remember the last time he'd been alone. Really, they were all treating him like he was so special for the Darkness thing, but they didn't believe he'd be fine on his own?

The village was full of people who never came up to the castle, dressed in clothes Juudai only vaguely recognized from other kingdoms. And all the things they sold! Juudai toyed with his wallet. He had enough money to get whatever he wanted to buy and he fully intended on doing so.

He got distracted by a group of children running past. Juudai didn't know a lot of kids at the palace. He had a sister who was way too young and stupid to play with, and the prime minister had a son who was afraid of everything. Those kids probably had way more fun in life than Juudai did. Maybe they'd let him play with them? But he hadn't eaten at all today yet, and there was a food stand right across the road from him!

Two minutes later he was holding a kind of stuffed pastry he'd never seen before. There was definitely meat in there, and vegetables, and he absolutely loved it. He'd have to tell the cooks to make it when he got back home.

He was chewing on his last bite when someone slammed into him, making him choke and cough violently.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" a girl asked, patting him on the back. "Keep coughing, c'mon."

Juudai groaned as the urge to cough finally subsided and he got a good look at the person who'd ran into him. The girl couldn't be older than Juudai himself. Her tangled hair was a peculiar shade of greenish blue that matched her eyes. Juudai had never seen that kind of color before.

"Sorry for running into you. I tripped," she said.

Juudai should probably say something nice to that. Instead he said: "Your hair's weird."

"Right," said the girl with ill-concealed impatience. "Well, if you're going to be okay, I'm off."

And she walked off, disappearing from sight within seconds. Were all kids this weird? Juudai definitely wasn't that weird.

Oh well, he could still go buy things! He turned on his heels and walked towards what looked like the main street of the village. So many shops and stalls!

"Your highness!"

Oh no. Juudai set his shoulders and watched as Captain Amyntha of the royal guard strode over, her every step carefully measured. He'd never seen her run in his life.

"Your highness, you should not disappear like that," she hissed, guiding him away from the now-stupefied vendors. She led him to an empty building with unerring accuracy. Probably one of the many buildings the royal guard owned everywhere. "You'll be happy to hear that we've caught the thief."

"Juudai frowned. "Thief?"

"The one who stole your—" Captain Amyntha paused, her mouth quirking into a vague half-smile. "Your highness, did you realize that your wallet got stolen?"

Juudai's hand flew to his belt. "Hey, my money!"

"Yes." Captain Amyntha looked outside. "Rest assured that the culprit will be punished severely."

On cue, two more guards whose names Juudai had never bothered to learn showed up. With them was the girl from before. Her blue-green eyes narrowed when she spotted Juudai.

"Hey, it's you!"

"Could you please tell them to let me go?" she asked. "I have places to be."

Captain Amyntha smiled grimly. "I don't think so, girl. The money?"

The guard on the right handed over the wallet. "She was carrying it."

"I thought so. Do you know what the punishment for stealing is, girl?"

In an instant, all of the girls anger vanished, and her face paled in a sickening kind of fear. Life in prison for stealing from a member of the royal family, Juudai remembered. Possibly even execution. But it was just a wallet! Juudai wanted to say so, but the girl beat him to it.

"I just wanted to eat!"

"A judge will decide—" Captain Amyntha said, as Juudai asked: "Can't you just ask your parents to buy you food?"

Where the girl's face had been pale before, it now turned a blotchy red. The guards exchanged uncomfortable looks with Captain Amyntha.

"I don't have any parents, you idiot," the girl spat. "Did you ever stop to think that not everyone gets to live in a castle with stupid servants following you around all day?"

"You will not address the prince like that," said Captain Amyntha. "Take her away. I will escort the prince back to the castle."

"Hey, but," Juudai told her as the Captain took his arm. "It's just a wallet! I don't care, she can have it! You can let her go!"

"I don't need your charity!"

Juudai frowned. The girl looked pale again under her anger. He thought he could see her tremble. Did she really have nothing to eat? She looked very small and her shirt was torn in several places. He turned pleading eyes on Captain Amyntha.

"Can't we just let her go? Dad won't know!"

"Your highness, it's highly unethical to leave a criminal on the loose."

"Please?"

Guard-on-the-left shifted uncomfortably. "It's just a child," she said.

Captain Amyntha sighed. "I have to report this. But I suppose... How fast can you run, girl?"

"Fast."

"Then I suppose you could have outrun us."

Juudai cheered. The girl's eyes widened. "I can go?" she asked.

Captain Amyntha nodded. The girl didn't need to be told twice. She darted out of the door as soon as the guards let go of her. Juudai frowned at her retreating back.

"You know," said Captain Amyntha, following his gaze. "We never did catch her. I'm sorry about your wallet."

She offered him his wallet. Juudai smiled and ran.

"Hey, wait!" He caught up with the girl and pressed his wallet into her hands. "They couldn't find you, so that's yours."

"Still don't need charity," she said, but she pocketed the money anyway and handed him his now-empty wallet back. "I suppose you could be worse. For a spoiled brat and all."

Juudai pulled a face. "Look, listen, I'm sorry. but there's a hole in the hedge on the east wall, left of the water tower. You can come if you want to."

"Why would I?"

"There's food?" Juudai tried. The girl shook her head.

"I can find something here."

"Well, just once," Juudai begged. He never had anyone to play with and this girl was kinda cool when she wasn't angry. "Please? Tomorrow, this time."

"You don't even know my name."

Juudai gave her a wide smile. "What's your name?"

The girl rolled her eyes, but Juudai counted the small smile as a win. "It's Yubel."

"Yubel." Juudai liked that name. "Will you come?"

Yubel brushed off her clothes and took a few steps back into the crowd of shoppers. "I'll consider it," she shouted.

Good enough for Juudai.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place near the very beginning of season 4.

In the three years she'd been working for Tome-san, Hana had never seen the Osiris Red dorm so deserted. It was honestly unnerving to see it empty after so many years of being filled with students. In the eight o'clock April darkness, it even looked scary.

Only Yuuki Juudai still lived in the Red dorm. Well, at least Juudai-kun could always be counted upon to cheer up their days at the shop. With that in mind, Hana set off towards the building, clutching the box of cleaning supplies closer to her chest. She really should've brought them over as soon as she got the request, but it had rained all day and she hadn't felt like making the trip.

The building was completely dark. Juudai-kun had to be out. Hana shrugged and fished out the spare key Tome-san had given her. It turned in the lock soundlessly. She'd have to remember to thank the maintenance people for that.

Inside, it was even darker than it had been in the forest, a heavy, oppressive darkness that weighed her down. Hana found the light switch and flicked it on. Nothing. With a sigh, Hana shouldered the door closed and made her way through the dark hallway. So much for maintenance doing their job.

"What do you want?" A voice growled right behind her. Hana didn't lose her grip on the box, but it was a near thing. That wasn't Juudai-kun, and no one but Juudai-kun was supposed to—

"Answer me, girl."

A hand gripped her shoulder, claws —claws?— digging into her skin painfully. Hana struggled to get free. "What are you doing here?" she managed. Who would break into Red dorm? She had to tell someone. If only she could get her PDA...

"If you are here to kill me, I strongly suggest you reconsider," said a second voice. And suddenly there was light, two points in front of her, orange and teal. Hana dropped her box for real this time. Those were eyes! But who had eyes like that?

"You gonna talk or what?"

Wait, that was... "Juudai-kun?"

"Wait, Hana-san?"

Light flooded the room. Yuuki Juudai stood in front of her, eyes still that orange-green combination. Hana pulled herself loose and came face-to-face with... No, that was too much for one night.

"Dropping off cleaning supplies, sorry for bothering you!" she got out, her voice breaking. She bolted through the door, down the stairs and into the forest that suddenly felt a whole lot safer.

"Hana-san, wait!" I'm sorry!" Juudai-kun shouted in the distance, but Hana didn't stop. Only when she was back in her room, under the safety of her bed covers, did she let herself think. There was a monster living in the Red dorm. Even with everything that had been going on lately, that was still too much.

**oOoOo**

The next day was a Saturday and, thankfully, Hana's day off this week. Saturdays were busy days in the shop, full of students who were stocking up on snacks for the weekend, and Hana had far too many things on her mind to deal with so many people at once.

Still, staying in her room proved equally unproductive. She's already found clean sheets for her bed, cleaned the shared bathroom and reorganized her shelves, and she was still at a loss. Should she tell headmaster Samejima about the monster? Knowing him, he already knew about it. And what about Juudai-kun? She had no idea what had happened to him in that other world. Why would he think she'd come to kill him?

With a frustrated groan, Hanna grabbed her bag and left her room. It was a very nice April day, unseasonably warm even though the grass was still wet from yesterday's rain, and best of all, there wasn't a cloud around to block out the light of the sun. Even the beach was crowded when she got there, but Hana had worked at Duel Academia for longer than most kids had been students there, and she knew all the really good, isolated places where she'd have plenty of time to think. She maneuvered herself onto a rocky outcropping, careful to stay away from the wet spots. The ocean wasn't very deep here, as she'd found out last year, but she still didn't feel like slipping and breaking an arm. Again.

"Hana-san?"

Hana lost her footing, slid down at least a meter and scrabbled uselessly at the rock. Two clawed hands lifted her and she found herself face to face with the monster. It pulled her from the rock and deposited her on the sand, right in front of Juudai-kun.

"Where did you come from?" she burst out. She had been all alone, she was sure of it! Juudai-kun looked as uncomfortable as he could with those eyes once again glowing orange-green. The monster took its place next to him. They had the same eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Hana became acutely aware that there was no one else with them and that her hands were stinging where she'd scraped them open on the rocks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she told him, looking anywhere but the monster. Was it a duel monster? Why was it real? Would it try to kill her like the monsters in the Desert World had? "I'm sorry, Tome-san needs me. I have to go."

"I'll go with you," said Juudai-kun. Hana shook her head quickly.

"No, no, I'm sure you have homework or something. Don't bother on my account!"

She knew she was rambling, but she just had to get out of here. Juudai-kun looked about to argue, but the monster shook its head and Hana didn't wait around to find out what it might have to say. Only when she was back among the students on the beach did she dare to look behind her, but Juudai-kun was nowhere to be seen.

She asked Tome-san about it the next day, when a lull in customers left them alone in the shop. Tome-san, normally always so upbeat, sat down heavily.

"It's supposed to remain a secret, so I can't tell you everything, Hana-chan. But Juudai-chan has gone through terrible things when he was in that other world. He's changed."

The pain in Tome-san's eyes was striking. Hana had only ever seen her like that once, when they'd had to tell a crying second year that his father had died in a car crash.

"Juudai-kun thought someone was coming to kill him," Hana asked. She'd expected surprise, even shock, but Tome-san merely shook her head.

"If Chronos-sensei is to be believed, he has reason to think so." Tome-san straightened her back. "And that's all I'll say on the matter, Hana-chan."

What kind of seventeen-year-old had reason to believe someone wanted to kill him? Hana wanted to ask more, maybe about the monster, but then the shop door opened and she slipped back into professional mode.

It was Yuuki Juudai. Of course it was. At least the monster was nowhere to be seen.

He zeroed in on Hana and walked up to the counter. Running off wouldn't do her paycheck any good, would it? His eyes were actually brown today. She took that as a good sign.

"Juudai-chan!" Tome-san greeted. "It's been such a long time. Have you been eating enough? You look a bit thin."

Juudai-kun looked rather overwhelmed with the sudden attention. He shifted from foot to foot. "That's alright, Tome-san. Actually, I came to apologize to Hana-san." He turned to her. Hana made a conscious effort not to flinch. "I'm sorry for scaring you the other day. We... We were on edge and overreacted. We shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Um, we?"

Not the most intelligent thing she'd ever said. Juudai-kun didn't immediately reply. He fished a card out of his deckholder without looking and carefully slid it over to Hana. A monster card. The monster.

"Yubel has been with me for a long time," Juudai-kun said. "Yesterday, I couldn't reach you in time, so Yubel caught you. Again, we're sorry."

So he had followed her yesterday to apologize. Well, if he'd gone through all that trouble...

"It's okay. Just, try not to do that to anyone else in the future?"

Juudai-kun actually looked like he had to think about that. "Unless they deserve it," he finally compromised.

"I can live with that," Hana said with a smile. She didn't get one in return, but Juudai-kun visibly relaxed.

"Thank you. I'll be going now."

"Tome-san tsked. "Now, Juudai-chan, you never did tell me when you ate last." She made her way out from behind the counter and grabbed a protesting Juudai-kun's arm. "You stay cooped up in your room all day long, you need to get out into the light."

"Not really," Juudai-kun muttered, casting a pleading glance at Hana. She just raised her hands and smiled as Tome-san dragged Juudai-kun over to the sandwich stand.

"Now you pick one and you're going to eat it all here," said Tome-san. "Free of charge, so I don't want to hear any excuses."

All in all, Hana reflected, Juudai-kun wasn't so scary. He wasn't even the scariest person in the room. She leaned back and watched as Juudai-kun opened his sandwich.

"Huh." The look of happy surprise at the sight of his sandwich was genuine. "Golden eggwich. Guess I can still do that."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, this chapter. The monster. The one that completely got out of hand. It caused me the most trouble of all the chapters, but hey, those are the fun ones.
> 
> Bonus game of Spot The Cameo! How many canon YGO characters can you find?

Blowing up one of Kaiba Corporation's buildings had not been one of Juudai's finer moments, and he could argue that he hadn't been truly responsible until he was blue in the face, but he was fully aware that Kaiba Seto didn't much like him. That was fine, if a bit disappointing. As long as he got the blame, it meant Saiou didn't. Even so, he'd hoped that after more than two years, Kaiba-san had forgotten about it.

Evidently not, judging by the letter he had just received. It had somehow reached him in the middle of the Bolivian rainforest just east of Santa Cruz, where he'd been looking for a rogue spirit. The letter had gone through a convoluted path that Juudai didn't even bother to understand, but if the messenger was to be believed, it had involved contacts within Industrial Illusions, O'Brien, several of his friends and even a spirit seer or two. All that effort for one letter. He wondered why they hadn't just called him, then remembered that he'd lost his cell phone in a confrontation with a group of overly ambitious mafiosi.

"Um, do you need a lift back?" the messenger asked. She brushed dreadlocks out of her face and gestured at the jeep she'd come in on. Juudai was momentarily distracted by the elaborate tattoo of a blue-green dragon curled around her biceps. It had nothing on Yubel, but he had to admit that it was beautifully done.

"No, I'll make it back before you do," he told her, swatting at a mosquito. Not even the powers of darkness were an effective insect-repellent. Maybe he should have brought Pharaoh along after all. Cats liked catching insects, right?

The woman shrugged and headed back to the jeep. Juudai waved when she took off, and waited until he was sure she hadn't driven into the nearest ravine before looking for the nearest spot to disappear. There were plenty. At least in a rainforest, he'd never be lacking for shadow, even with the sun at its highest point in mid-December.

"So we're just dropping everything?"

Yubel shimmered into view under one of the many, many, many nearby trees. This one might be a palm tree. There was no need for her to appear to have this conversation, of course, but she and Juudai both preferred talking face-to-face whenever they could.

Juudai frowned down at the letter. "Kaiba-san is asking for my presence. Urgently."

"I'm sure he can wait a bit longer."

Juudai looked at Yubel, then at the letter, and shrugged. They did still have a runaway spirit to find. And while it was unlikely to do much damage here... Well, might as well get it over with.

**oOoOo**

Their runaway spirit turned out to be a Giga Gagagigo. They stumbled into Kaiba Corporation's new building three days later, with Juudai sunburnt and exhausted from subduing the massive creature. It had been blinded, the poor thing, and Juudai following it had only made it more nervous. They had only managed to calm it down with a lot of help from Wildman. It had felt more at home in the rainforest than it had in its own world, so Juudai hadn't seen much use in taking it back. If Wildman was to be believed, the poor spirit had been hunted down by poachers. Juudai hadn't even known there were spirit poachers, and it was a revelation that was still bothering him by the time he got back to Japan. He'd definitely have to look into that.

Kaiba Seto was already in the meeting room when Juudai entered. His younger brother had chosen a spot on the windowsill and smiled when Juudai entered.

"Juudai-kun! Last time I saw you, you were just a little kid!"

The last time Juudai had seen Kaiba Mokuba, he'd been a young teenager. Now he was in his mid-twenties and stood as tall as his brother, his hair pulled back in a ponytail. Seto Kaiba hadn't changed in the least since the last time they'd met. Possibly there was a source of eternal youth somewhere. Another thing to check.

"I came here as soon as I could." More or less. "What's the problem?"

Kaiba Seto finally looked at him with ill-concealed impatience. At the back of his mind, Yubel bristled. Yeah, Kaiba-san wasn't going to like him again any time soon.

"My company has been going through some serious changes," Kaiba-san said. "Not all of them voluntary."

He gauged Juudai's reaction. From behind his back, Mokuba-san offered a sympathetic smile.

"I have been told," Kaiba-san continued when Juudai didn't react, "that you were not to blame for the destruction of my buildings. Be as that may, it was still a loss for the company, but we have decided—" he gestured at his brother and himself, "—to use the opportunity to renew our offices and bring new people on board to expand our R&D division."

Juudai nodded and sat down. If no one was going to offer him a chair, he might as well find one himself.

"So where do I come in?"

"We have hired a lot of new people. It has come to my attention that the screening process may not have been up to our usual standards." Kaiba tapped a pen on the table. "There have been a series of thefts. Nothing that stood out at first, mostly raw materials and parts. But it has become a pattern and we need to find out who is responsible. The last theft that we know of took place last week, the night of the 12th."

_Why should we care?_

Yubel's bewilderment mirrored his own. "I'm not sure I'm the right person to find a thief, Kaiba-san," Juudai said. "Maybe the police would do a better job."

Kaiba-san grimaced. "We believe the case would be more suited for your... special talents. The thief is suspected to have outside connections."

That didn't actually clear anything up. Juudai tilted his head.

"What my brother is failing to say," Mokuba-san cut in, "is that we believe those connections to be otherworldly."

Ah. Well, that explained a lot.

"Yes, thank you, Mokuba." Kaiba-san sighed and put his hands together. "Catching our thief has proven to be problematic, but we have narrowed it down to a couple of people." He grabbed a piece of paper and passed it on to Juudai. It held five or six names, all with a short description of the person in question.

"Most of these people are either new employees or interns," Mokuba-san said. "We don't know if our thief is on there, but they've all shown themselves to be suspicious in some way. We'd like you to investigate and call us if you find anything."

"I kind of lost my phone a while ago," Judai said. Mokuba-san smiled.

"We'll get you a new one. Consider it advance payment, alright?"

Juudai nodded and let his mind wander, his view expanding until it covered most of the building. He grinned. Well, that was interesting.

_You noticed?_

_Leave it to Kaiba-san to put a building right on the weakest spot in all of Domino._ Juudai shook his head. At least the weak point between dimensions wasn't as big here as it was at Duel Academia. Not entirely his concern right now anyway. He looked further. At least three people who weren't quite from this world and—he glanced at the list and indulged in some quick mind-reading. Yep, one of those people was on the list. Several people with very good shields, too. Juudai didn't prod any further.

Timothy Kant, the list read. It was as a good a place to start as any.

**oOoOo**

Juudai's first impression of Timothy Kant was a deep, pervading sense of  _loneliness._

They found Timothy in an otherwise-empty lab, scribbling down equations that almost immediately got smudged when his hand brushed over them. He glanced up when he saw Juudai enter, averted his gaze almost right away, and grimaced when he spotted the pencil smudges on the side of his hand.

"Yuuki-san," he said, "they told me you'd be coming." He got up when Juudai neared and held out his pencil-stained left hand, then thought better of it and switched to his right. Juudai shook it. Yeah, there was definitely something off about this guy.

_He reminds me of Paradox,_ Yubel noted. Juudai squinted. With his short, blue hair and grey eyes, Timothy Kant looked absolutely nothing like Paradox. Still, he understood what Yubel meant. Timothy's aura was... displaced, much like Paradox's had been. Dimensional traveler?

"You're a long way from home," he said conversationally. Timothy smiled. It did nothing to hide the emotional turmoil rolling off from him in waves.

"Oh, not too far. I'm from Tokyo. I don't believe you live in Domino City either, Yuuki-san."

"I travel," Juudai replied. He tried for a quick prod at Timothy's thoughts, but hit a shield. Timothy had been taught to hide his thoughts, but his emotions were something else altogether. Juudai hid a shudder. This guy hadn't had a fun time.

It would be easy to finger Timothy Kant as the culprit, but he had met dimensional travelers before. Most of them weren't out to cause any trouble. If Timothy was just here on a sightseeing tour, Juudai wasn't about to stop him. He'd already learned some very harsh lessons about jumping to conclusions.

"So, you're interning here? What do you do?"

Timothy collected his notes and shoved them into a binder. Juudai caught a glimpse of a long series of complex equations and immediately decided he had better things to spend his time on. If he wanted a physics lesson, he'd ask Misawa.

_And you wonder why no one ever let you do the accounting._

"Accounting isn't physics," he muttered. Timothy shot him a strange look.

"It isn't. Why do you—"

Juudai waved a hand. "Sorry, talking to myself. So, you're what, a scientist?"

"Mechanic, actually." Timothy put the last of his notes away and straightened up. He was a lot taller than Juudai. "But right now I'm working as an engineer. Working at Kaiba Corporation... It's a big opportunity. It gives us a chance to really change things," he said with almost desperate conviction. Juudai and Yubel exchanged looks. Timothy slumped a bit and smiled.

"I'm sorry, I get passionate about this stuff. I'm sure you know how it is." He sat down and looked up at Juudai, toying with a simple black pen he'd fished out of his pocket. "Sit down. I'm guessing you're here about the thefts?"

The only empty chair left was on the other side of the room, being used to prop up something large, complicated and undoubtedly expensive. Juudai didn't think Kaiba-san would appreciate him costing Kaiba Corp. even more money, so he hopped onto the table Timothy had been working at.

"Where were you the night of the 12th?"

Timothy shrugged, abashed. "Right here, actually," he said. "I worked through the night. There was a project I really wanted to finish, so..." He trailed off. Juudai grinned. If this guy ever met Misawa, they'd never see the outside of a lab again.

_What do you think_? Yubel gently curled a hand around his upper arm. No matter how good Timothy was at engineering, he clearly had no talent for seeing spirits. He continued to play with his pen without meeting Juudai's eyes, oblivious to Yubel's presence.

_I don't think he's lying._  Timothy Kant was hiding something, no doubt, but whatever it was, it had nothing to do with this. "We'll have to check the camera footage—Is there camera footage here?"

"Ask for Yori-san in security, she'll help you." Timothy sat up straighter and put the pen down, though he still didn't look at Juudai. Juudai hopped off the table.

"I'll do that." He said his goodbyes and was about to leave the lab when he thought of something. He paused in the doorway and turned around. Timothy was fiddling with the pen again.

"You should visit home soon. I'm sure your family misses you."

Timothy glanced up, his face briefly contorting into something ugly. He let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah, I'll get right to that."

**oOoOo**

Timothy Kant's story checked out. So did that of Vanessa Peterson, who spent a lot of time at work after a nasty breakup, and that of Yamahashi Kaori, who was waiting for Vanessa to notice her. Juudai left the latter with a pat on the back and a shake of his head. Their list was already down by three people, and he was starting to suspect they were on the wrong track entirely.

Yubel agreed. "We've been so busy looking for who did it, but we don't know why they're doing it."

Juudai took a bite out of his sandwich and swiveled in his chair. At two in the afternoon, the cafeteria was almost deserted. Only a few stragglers were still eating. A slumped-over young man spooned soup into his mouth, paused, and added another packet of salt. Juudai wished he could do the same to the sandwich.

"What did they steal again?" he whispered.

"Some iron, some glass fiber, a few pieces of equipment... Really nothing big," Yubel replied. She, unlike Juudai, didn't bother keeping her voice down.

"But that makes no sense." Juudai put the sandwich down. "Iron, glass fiber... That's not hard to get. Why steal it from Kaiba Corp.? That's just looking for trouble."

"Exactly." Yubel fell silent. Juudai stared at the blue-striped walls.

"Unless..." He bit his lip. "Unless that's not what's really going on. It sounds so stupid. Why steal something you can just as easily find in a store? If they're working here, they can't be that hard-up for money."

"You think they're covering up something else."

"Yeah. There has to be more going on," Juudai said. "Come on. We need to take a look at the camera footage again."

"We've been looking at specific people so far," Yubel said. The hallways were empty apart from the odd scientist. One of them, an older Korean woman, followed Yubel with her eyes when they passed. Another spirit seer.

"I don't think that's going to tell us anything." The only thing Juudai had learned was that Kaiba Corp. had an unusually high percentage of workaholics. With someone like Kaiba-san at the helm, that didn't come as a surprise.

Yubel nodded. "You might want to try checking out a few places. See where the camera doesn't come."

The security station was empty when they arrived. Juudai didn't let it bother him. Kaiba-san had given him free rein, after all. He could enter if he wanted to.

The camera feeds showed all of the main labs, the hallways and the big income hall. Yubel appeared next to him when Juudai was peering at his own image on a screen in the lower left corner.

"See anything?" he asked absently.

Yubel shook her head. "Nothing out of the ordinary. But if our thieves are smart, they'll stay out of range of the cameras."

"Which means they'd know where all the cameras are placed. Not the work of a bunch of newcomers." Juudai stared at the numerous buttons. Did he dare pressing them? Maybe he should just get Kaiba-san or Mokuba-san. He was just about to call them when movement on the lower left screen, the one that showed the office and the hallway around it, caught his attention. Yubel noticed too and disappeared from view seconds before an older woman entered the office.

"Good afternoon," she said. "May I ask what you are doing in my office?"

She was tiny. She also looked like she knew fifty ways to knock Juudai out just with the coffee cup she was holding.

"I'm Yuuki Juudai," Juudai said quickly. "Kaiba-san asked me to investigate the recent thefts."

The woman put her cup down with a heavy  _thunk_. "He mentioned something about that, yes." She straightened up. "I am Yori Kamiko. I am in charge of overseeing security at Kaiba Corporation."

Juudai'd figured as much. Yori-san leaned past him and changed the video feeds, cycling rapidly through the labs and the cafeteria. "Can I help you with anything?" she asked.

"Yeah. We need to know where the cameras don't come."

Yori-san nodded pensively. "There are a few places. Did everyone on the list come back clean?"

"So far. You know about the list?"

"I made it." Yori-san said with a faraway look. "I must admit that I'm glad I was wrong. They're all very bright people and I would hate to lose them. As for your question—" she turned away from the screens. "There are a few places the camera doesn't see. Kaiba-san's office, for one."

Juudai waved a hand. Unless the thieves could turn invisible, their headquarters were unlikely to be directly under Kaiba-san's nose.

"There's also the basement. We haven't installed any cameras there yet."

"What's down there?" asked Juudai.

"Nothing, as of yet. Kaiba-san is thinking about opening another lab there, but it hasn't been built yet. This here—" Yori-san changed the image on the center screen to a dark, empty place that looked more like a construction site than a lab, "—is the hallway leading to the stairs."

Juudai smiled. "I think I might want to check that out. Do you want to come along, Yori-san?"

Yori-san bent over the computer controlling the screen, her face illuminated eerily by the glow. She grimaced. "I'm sorry, I have to be present at a meeting in fifteen minutes. I only came by to pick up my notes."

"Not a problem." Juudai waved goodbye and headed back to the end of the hallway, where the elevators were.

_You think there's something in the basement?_

"We'll know soon enough."

**oOoOo**

The basement was deserted. Nothing but gray, concrete walls, plastic that covered the entire floor, and a few lone spotlights that had all been turned off. Juudai didn't need them.

"Anything?"

"No people," said Yubel, confirming what Juudai already knew. He sighed. This was starting to look like another dead end. They turned a corner and walked down the length of what would become a hallway once the basement had been turned into the labs Yori-san had talked about. Most of the rooms lining the hallway were completely empty, except for... Huh.

"Why would you install a steel door when nothing else is finished?" Juudai narrowed his eyes. Yeah, that was definitely a door. There wasn't a sign of life in the room behind it, but still. Time to check it out.

"Hane Kuriboh," he whispered. His partner appeared immediately. "Could you go take a look on the other side?"

Hane Kuriboh trilled and disappeared from view. He reappeared less than a minute later, visibly shaken, flapping his wings and chirping rapidly.

"Whoa, calm down! I can't understand you properly," Juudai told him. He'd caught something about a monster? "Is it safe to go in?"

Hane Kuriboh paused and managed a nod. Juudai nodded in return and exchanged a look with Yubel. "We're going in."

He didn't even bother trying the door. Why leave evidence that he'd been here? Instead he instantly moved to the other side of the wall. The basement was plenty dark enough for him to pull off that little trick.

It was equally dark on the other side of the wall, but the differences were immediately clear. There was no plastic covering the ground here, but solid tile. The walls were still bare, but several tables lined them. An emergency generator was whirring in the corner. Hane Kuriboh chirped urgently, and Juudai took his eyes off the computers next to it.

At first he thought he was seeing Amber Mammoth, trapped in one of Giese's cocoons.

It wasn't, but the monster could have passed for one of the Gem Beasts with ease. Juudai rushed forward and slammed his hands against the cocoon. The monster inside flinched violently. It must have been beautiful once, a large, elephant-like creature, its body inlaid with red gems. But now, one of its tusks was gone and the front of its face was scabbed over. Three holes remained where once there had to have been gems. It was solid within the cocoon. A forcefield, emulating spirit world conditions. Juudai suddenly had a very good idea what the thieves had needed all the equipment for.

"What have they done to you?" he whispered. The elephant drew into itself. How could they have—How could they have done this?

"Poachers," Yubel ground out next to him. Her anger was feeding his. "They're not stealing anything. They're poaching spirits."

"The Giga Gagagigo we found last week." Juudai turned around. "Hane Kuriboh, please go back to the deck."

Hane Kuriboh chirped in protest, but one look from Juudai shut him up. Juudai was not risking his partner to this, not to people who would hurt a living creature in cold blood. If he got his hands on them...

"But why here? Why right under Kaiba's nose?" Yubel asked. Juudai let out a bitter laugh. Of course.  _Of course._

"Because he managed to put his building right on top of the weakest spot in all of Domino, remember? Help me break this thing down." He took a deep breath and addressed the monster: "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here."

The monster only clenched its eyes shut. Juudai had to breathe slowly for several seconds before he felt capable of doing anything that wasn't destroying the entire room. Yubel nudged him and pointed him towards the base of the cocoon, where it was soldered to a large metal plate, too strong for him or Yubel to break through without hurting the spirit inside.

"There has to be another way. They would have to get it out to..." Yubel didn't finish that sentence. Juudai was very much not thinking about that. He closed his eyes until he was sure they resembled something like a normal color. When he opened them, the elephant was staring at them warily. It very carefully turned its head towards the computers lining the wall.

"Understood." Juudai walked towards the computers in careful, measured steps, Yubel right on his heels. He didn't know a lot about computers. His own laptop he mostly used to keep in touch with his friends and look up the occasional news article. But they were in the middle of Kaiba Corporation. Someone in this building had to have the skills to hack those things.

The steel door opened.

There was nowhere in the room to hide, but Juudai wasn't planning on doing so. No, he was very interested in meeting the people behind this little operation. He really would like to have a word with them.

The first person to enter was a tall blond man with a gun already out. Juudai quirked an eyebrow. Interesting, that. He was followed by another man and a woman, both armed. They'd known he was here.

"You entered the wrong place, kid," the first man said, turning on the lights. Juudai tilted his head. Yubel had disappeared the moment the door opened. These people very likely could see spirits and Juudai knew how much Yubel appreciated the element of surprise.

"You knew I was coming," Juudai said. He disregarded the guns entirely. Fancy noise makers, nothing more. "So who's behind your little operation? Someone within Kaiba Corp., I take it?"

"None of your business."

"I have been appointed to investigate this case. I think you'll find that it is very much my business,  _especially_ ," Juudai gestured at the elephant, 'if you insist on hurting innocent creatures."

Someone laughed, and Juudai knew right then that none of these people had any idea of who he was.

Oh, this was going to be  _incredible._

"You know," he said, "I met a Giga Gagagigo a few days ago. It was blind. With all that I've seen just now, I can't help but wonder if you know anything about that."

"That has nothing to do with you," the second man said. His voice sounded oddly hoarse, like he hadn't spoken in a long time.

"I really do think it does," said Juudai. If anyone noticed the light dimming, they didn't react. Fine, if that was the way they wanted to play it. "I met another spirit trapper once. He had a pretty similar set-up to you guys, actually. He died."

He let the last words linger for a few seconds, but they didn't seem to have much of an effect. Overconfident idiots. "Actually, no, he was killed. By the spirits he'd been torturing."

The blond man laughed. "Really? What's elephant guy going to do?"

"Ry!" the woman snapped. She hadn't relaxed her stance since they'd come in. Juudai zeroed in on her. She might be a bit more of a challenge than the other ones. "Orders were to get rid of him, not monologue at him."

And she shot. Juudai waved a lazy hand and the bullet bounced off the shield he'd created. That got them all moving. Juudai had been right in his initial assessment. The woman was by far the most dangerous of the bunch, coming at him from every angle she could think of. Juudai dismissed most of the shots immediately. He hadn't properly accounted for the two men, however. With none of the shots getting through, they'd decided to just tackle him. And Juudai was many things, but big wasn't exactly one of them. He took an involuntary step backwards when they rushed him.

_Yubel, now would be a good time._

_Do something about the lights first._

Element of surprise, right. Juudai dodged an attack, threw up the shield again to stop another bullet and got rid of the lights. In the confusion that followed, he made it to a reasonably safe haven, right behind the still-imprisoned elephant. Then he turned on the lights again.

The bunch of them had clearly seen enough monster spirits to not immediately be surprised at the sight of Yubel. They were taken aback enough to stop shooting, though.

"Elephant guy isn't going to do anything, no. You made plenty sure of that," said Yubel, venom clear in her voice. "I, however, might."

Would it be bad form to just sit back and enjoy the show?

The man named Ry was the first to shoot, this time. It had as little effect on Yubel as it had had on Juudai. Unlike Juudai, though, Yubel didn't keep still. She took to the air and had Ry disarmed before he could fire a second shot. Juudai got up, winked at the elephant who was now watching the fight with cautious fascination, and surveyed the situation.

_Yubel, would you mind if I sent in back-up?_

_Scare them straight? Go for it._

"Hey!" Juudai shouted. He got the other man's attention, but the woman was focusing all her energy on Yubel, who was actually having some trouble pinning her down. "Remember that other poacher I told you about? Wanna know what he felt like when he died?"

No reply, but Juudai hadn't exactly expected one either. He channeled his energy straight into his deck, materializing Neos, then Featherman and Burst Lady, then along with them all the other Elemental Heroes and Neospacians.

"You guys been listening?"

Burst Lady nodded. "We've got some good ideas about what to do."

Juudai gestured. "Well, don't let me stop you."

The woman didn't wait for his monsters to attack; she aimed for Yubel, but the shot went wild when Sparkman tackled her. Juudai ducked, and the bullet went through the cocoon, missing the monster by a hair. It cried out in fear as the glass shattered. Not very bulletproof.

"Come here, quick," Juudai shouted at it. The elephant hesitated, but another shot gone wild made the decision for it. It hurried towards Juudai. The lesser of two evils, Juudai supposed as he wrapped his arms around it. He was the one keeping it solid now, his control not good enough to only materialize the monsters he wanted. He'd have to keep it safe.

The best thing to be said about the poachers was that they were still alive after his monsters got through with them. Somewhere halfway through the increasingly one-sided fight, Aqua Dolphin landed next to Juudai.

"Don't you think this is a bit overkill?"

Juudai tilted his head towards the elephant. "Do you?"

Aqua Dolphin's eyes narrowed as he took in the monster cowering next to Juudai. "No, I think you're right. Are there any more spirits?"

"We'll find out." Juudai took a deep breath. "Guys, I think that's enough. We do kind of need them alive."

"Pity," someone said. He thought it might have been Black Panther. His monsters disappeared one by one, leaving just Yubel, Hane Kuriboh, and Wildman, who quietly approached the elephant. The three attackers were all unconscious. Juudai sighed and began the laborious process of putting them in recovery position. Might as well make sure they were still breathing. He did need information. And there was still the case of the elephant.

It hesitantly looked around, unsure of what to do outside captivity. Juudai sighed. Such a beautiful creature.

"Hey, it'll be okay. I have friends who can help you," he told it. It was limping when it walked. Good thing those guys were already very thoroughly unconscious, or Juudai would have done worse.

He fished out his cellphone and dialed Mokuba-san. His call was answered within seconds.

" _Juudai-kun?"_

"I've found the culprits. We're in the basement in a room behind a steel door."

_"There are no doors in the basement,"_ said Mokuba-san.

"Yeah, that's what we thought too."

Mokuba-san seemed to take that into stride. " _Alright, I'll bring security."_

"You know, on second thought, call the police instead of security. Trust me on that one."

Juudai ended the call. Only one more thing left to take care of.

**oOoOo**

Mokuba-san was waiting outside the conference room on the 39th floor, right underneath Kaiba-san's office. He looked up from his phone when Juudai stepped out of the elevator.

"The police are dealing with them," he said. "They, uh, might need a trip to the hospital as well. Do I want to know what you did?"

"Probably not." Juudai glanced at the heavy oak doors of the conference room. "Is Kaiba-san in there?"

"He's in a meeting. Do you need me to get him out?"

Juudai shook his head. "I'd rather go in, if that's okay. And I'm going to need police here too."

Mokuba-san tapped on his phone. It pinged, and he read the message with a thoughtful frown. "They'll be up in a minute or two," he said. "Is that okay for you?"

"That's fine. Do you want to come along?"

Mokuba-san smiled. "And watch you tell Nii-san? Wouldn't miss it for the world."

They entered the conference room together. Minimalistic design, glass tables, and a variety of people all with laptops and tablets that probably weren't even available to the public yet. Kaiba was seated near the front of the table, watching the speaker attentively. He seemed to be the only one. A young man shot up and barely suppressed a yawn when Juudai and Mokuba-san entered. The speaker stopped talking.

"Nii-san," Mokuba-san greeted. "Juudai-kun has just found our culprits. Domino City police officers arrested them ten minutes ago."

Juudai glanced around the room. Yori-san was sitting a few seats down from Kaiba-san, listening attentively. She frowned at the mention of the police.

"Kaiba-san," she said, addressing Mokuba-san, "if I may so impertinent, why weren't my people called? I have been involved with this case since the start—"

_Probably why they never found anyone._

Juudai snorted. All heads turned to him.

"I'll explain that in a minute, Yori-san," he said. "First of all, Kaiba-san, you should know you weren't dealing with thieves, but smugglers."

Kaiba-san lifted an eyebrow. "They were smuggling materials stolen from Kaiba Corp.? That doesn't seem very smart."

"Not materials, spirits. If you go down to the basement right now, I'm sure you'll find most of the stolen material. You were right in suspecting otherworldly involvement." Juudai paused. "Still, I'm left with a few questions."

"Such as?"

Juudai grabbed a chair and sat down on it backwards. "See, when I went down to the basement, I was confronted with a few people who didn't seem very surprised to see me there. They were rather intent on killing me, I must say." He sighed. "But of course, no one knew I was going down there..."

_Stop it with the theatrics._

_Oh, alright_. Juudai couldn't suppress the slightest of grins. "Except for Yori-san. I did wonder about that. Because I can believe that the place would be abandoned, but then for them to find me right afterwards and intending to kill me? A bit suspicious."

"Be careful with what you're implying, Yuuki-san," Yori-san said coldly. Juudai continued, undaunted.

"Who were you planning on framing, Yori-san? Timothy Kant? Vanessa Peterson? Maybe Yamahashi Kaori? You designed the list well. All people who had something suspicious going for them."

"I found no pleasure in designing that list," Yori-san hissed. She got up. Juudai chanced a look at Kaiba-san, who had not reacted yet, but was watching the proceedings intently. The rest of the people in the room seemed more confused than anything.

"Yori-san has been a valued employee of Kaiba Corp. for many years," Kaiba-san said mildly. "What is your evidence, Yuuki-kun?"

"I don't have proof," Juudai admitted, "but I have many questions. Kaiba-san, do your employees get access to weapons?"

"Of course not."

"Only security, I'm guessing. Funny how the three people down in the basement all had guns. I mean, you can't just walk into the grocery store and buy one. They're not easy to come by."

"Unless you know someone," Mokuba-san finished for Juudai. "Good show, Juudai-kun."

Kaiba-san sighed. "Yori-san?"

"I refuse to listen to this slander any longer." Yori-san said. She grabbed her bag and headed for the exit. "Kaiba-san, perhaps you shouldn't hire kids for important matters."

She threw open the conference door and ran straight into three police agents. Juudai smiled. "Of course, if you're not involved, I suppose you can tell these nice people all about it and they'll let you go once you've proven your innocence."

Yori-san turned to him with a venomous glare. But she wouldn't try to attack him now. That would only settle her guilt.

"Right, this meeting is over," Kaiba-san announced. He stood up. "Officers, please report back to me with the results of your investigation. Everyone else, please get out."

The meeting room emptied within minutes, leaving just Kaiba-san, Mokuba-san, and Juudai himself. Kaiba-san took a deep breath.

"When I ask you to investigate something, you don't do it by halves. You do realize Yori-san is one of my most valued employees, don't you?" he said. Juudai shook his head.

"I know, but you can't expect me to let this go. That spirit down there..." He clenched his jaw shut. Mokuba-san frowned.

"Why spirits? What do they gain from it?"

"Simple, Mokuba," said Kaiba-san. "I am willing to admit that monster spirits exist, but do you think the police force is? What do you think they'll be charged with?"

Comprehension dawned. "Theft, maybe embezzlement of resources. Illegally firing a weapon at most." Mokuba-san groaned.

"Can't poach something that doesn't technically exist," Juudai ground out. It was an awful reality. At most, they'd get a year in prison and they'd get off completely scot-free otherwise. "I'm going to make very sure they never pull anything like this ever again, trust me." He got up. "If you don't mind, I'll be going now."

"Seems like you've cost my company some more resources, Yuuki Juudai," Kaiba-san said, "but thank you."

That'd have to do. Juudai waved goodbye to Mokuba-san and left the conference room, Yubel in tow. They found Wildman outside, along with the spirit elephant. It startled when he came out.

"You okay?" Juudai asked softly, crouching down in front of it. "I have a friend who might be able to help you—" The elephant shook its head vehemently. No people. Right. "Well then, do you know a Giga Gagagigo? I met it a couple of days ago."

The elephant nodded cautiously.

"It's living in a forest now. No people around anywhere. What do you think?"

The elephant perked up and nodded, flapping its ears. Juudai smiled. One more trip to make and maybe then he'd stay in one place for a while.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains transphobic, homophobic and misogynistic slurs, along with mild gender dysphoria. If this is triggering or upsetting to you, please put your mental health first and skip this one!

Had Sam known how her day would turn out, she wouldn't have picked the nice skirt to wear this morning. She loved that skirt, loved how silky the fabric was and how the deep blue looked against her own dark skin. She'd bought it with her very first paycheck months ago, when she'd just moved in with Mike and found a store willing to hire her, and she wore it whenever she thought she could get away with it.

But she loved it a whole lot less right now, when she'd been on her feet for nearly eight hours and Asshole Customer of the Evening had delayed closing for so long that she'd missed her bus. The guy hadn't even bought anything, only thrown her a disgusted look when he finally left. She wished she could say it didn't hurt.

The next bus wouldn't arrive for another hour, and Sam definitely didn't want to stay here, near midnight, all alone with only a passing car every once in a while. If only Mike hadn't been out of town, he would've picked her up for sure. Sam let out a long breath. Walking home it was. Her skirt was absolutely no good for that, but home was only three miles away. If she hurried, she could be in bed with hot chocolate by one.

She was so engrossed in her vision of hot chocolate milk, with whipped cream and cinnamon and maybe even chocolate sprinkles, that she almost didn't notice the guy ambling the street in front of her. Sam tensed, but the guy —something Japanese?— only smiled up at her when she passed him and wished her a good evening. She didn't think she'd seen him here before. Sam resisted the urge to look over her shoulder. It was no skin off her back. Only one more mile to go and she'd be home.

She turned a corner and almost ran into a group of three twenty-somethings outside a bar. Sam quickly sidestepped them with a muttered apology. She'd forgotten about this place. Crossing the road would have been wiser.

"Hey!"

And there it was. Sam straightened her shoulders and wished she'd worn jeans. Could she get her keys from her bag?

"What're you, some kinda shemale?"

Derisive laughter. Sam kept walking. If she didn't pay attention, they'd find a new target. Of all days for Mike not to be in town...

"Where'd you get those clothes?" A girl yelled. "Stole them from your sister?"

Sam risked a glance backwards. The girl was pretty, prettier than Sam could ever hope to be, and it hurt to know that even with the nice skirt, the one she adored, she still wasn't—

"Hey tranny, we're talking to you!" The first guy made a grab for her. Sam narrowly avoided him, but before she could run, he was crowding her against the building and looming over her. Sam balled her right hand into a fist.

"Please leave me alone," she said. She could take the guy, but all of his friends?

"Hey," the other guy in the group said. He was shorter than the first guy, with bleached blond hair that was dark at the roots. "I bet you fags love to suck cock. You gonna—"

"I think that's enough."

It was a new voice, one that sounded remarkably sober. Sam used the opportunity to duck away, but the guy grabbed her arm. Nothing to it, then. She punched him.

It was a good punch, and the guy reeled back, clutching his nose.

"You fuckin' slut!"

" _I said,_  that's enough," the newcomer said. It was the Japanese guy, the one Sam had passed earlier. Was he following her?

"Piss off!" the girl shouted. New Guy looked entirely unimpressed. He walked over to where Sam had backed up.

"She said to leave her alone."

He was at least a head shorter than Sam herself. Not that she wasn't grateful for the interruption, but what exactly was he going to accomplish?

"Fuck off, this has nothing to do with you," said Bleached Guy. The Japanese guy sighed and gave her a wry smile over his shoulder.

"Well, I did try to be polite," he muttered, and then said, louder, "Last warning. Leave her alone."

"Or what?"

The guy shook his head. He waved a hand and the lights went out.

Sam blinked against the sudden dark. It wasn't just the lights from the bar, she noticed. Not even just the streetlights. Even the moon and the brightest stars, visible against the bright city lights, were gone. The street had gone completely dark. Sam stumbled back. Had she just come across something even worse? Bigoted fucks she could deal with just fine, but this?

"I don't like people like you," Japanese Guy said. "You think you get to bully people,  _hurt_ them, because they are different?

"Hey bud," one of the men said, his voice wavering. Clearly they weren't so drunk that they didn't notice they were in trouble. "We're all friends here."

"Are we?" Japanese Guy's voice was utterly, thoroughly cold. "Yubel, what do you think?"

"Not very friendly," a new voice said, darkly amused. At long last, the light of the moon returned. Sam took one look at the scene in front of her and right away wished she hadn't. Because Japanese Guy was still in front of her, but now, next to him, there was... That was a monster. It looked at her and Sam willed her legs to move, to run, but then it smiled at her.

"What'd you do?" the pretty girl whispered.

"That? That was nothing," said the monster. "Juudai and I can do worse."

"Much worse," Juudai repeated. Sam caught his reflection in the window of the bar. His eyes were  _glowing_. "I would leave now," he said. The monster spread its wings. "And I'd be very, very nice to everyone you meet in the future. Yubel and I will know if you're not. If you don't..." Reflection-Juudai smiled, showing teeth. "I will find you. I will be the monster under your bed, the shadow lurking just around the corner, out of sight. Darkness, you see, is  _everywhere._ "

They ran. Sam was very close to following their example. But then the streetlights came back on and the guy—Juudai—slumped and smiled, back to looking entirely non-threatening, not... Whatever that had been.

"Sorry, did I overdo it? Are you okay?" He turned around. His eyes were a very normal brown, only a shade lighter than Sam's own. He reached out a hand. "I'm Juudai. This is Yubel."

"Sam," she said, and shook his hand. It was probably wise to be polite to the guy who'd just taken the moon itself out of the sky. "Thank you, but I could've handled it."

"I'm sorry," said Juudai. He looked genuinely contrite. "I know that probably won't fix anything in the long run. It's just, I heard what they said and I can't stand it when people..."

Yubel, the monster, wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulder and glanced at Sam. "When I took this form, people weren't always nice."

"Even before," Juudai muttered.

There was a story there that Sam wasn't sure she wanted to know. She still said, vehemently: "Fuck them."

Juudai and Yubel both laughed. Sam was trying to decide what to do next—Where did one go from here?—when Juudai's backpack moved.

"Um, your backpack—"

"Oh!" Juudai took his backpack and opened it. A large cat popped out. "This is Pharaoh. He travels with us."

That was... almost normal. Sam reached out and the cat sniffed her hand, meowed once and jumped out of the bag. "So he's just an ordinary cat?"

"Ah." Juudai shifted from foot to foot. "More or less?"

Sam stared at the cat, opened her mouth to ask, but decided against it. "You know what, I don't want to know." She'd like to be able to look at the neighbors' cats and not wonder what kind of mystical secrets they harbored, thank you very much. "I really need to get going. My shift starts at eight tomorrow."

"Can we walk you home?" asked Juudai.

"You don't need to. I'm fine on my own."

"For the company, then." Juudai looked at her imploringly. "I don't actually know the city. We're just tourists."

"Well, okay." They seemed nice enough when they weren't breaking the laws of nature. If they wanted to kill her, they could probably do so whenever they wanted, and if they didn't, she'd have an awesome story to tell Mike.

"So that thing with the moon, how'd you do that?"

Juudai laughed, loud and happy. "Oh, that? Parlor trick, nothing more."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nitya first appeared in the bonus chapter of A Kingdom Lost. This is not quite the same Nitya as the Nitya in that story, but they have many things in common.
> 
> This chapter crosses over with Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal, so beware mild spoilers! And yes, Wolf of the Fallguys is shown with Super Fusion in his hand in Zexal. It's very baffling.

When her predecessor had died, after what Nitya remembered to be a long and, despite some hiccups, enjoyable life, he had left behind a universe that was mostly at peace. Nitya could appreciate that. It gave her plenty of time to grow up and develop the powers she was born with.

It also gave her Yubel.

Perhaps Yuuki Juudai's greatest achievement during his tenure as the incarnation of Gentle Darkness was fusing his soul—the very soul of Darkness—to that of Yubel. No more looking for each other. No more scouring the earth, hoping with each passing year that they would meet each other soon. Yuuki Juudai had been lucky. Nitya distinctly remembered at least one life where she'd never met Yubel at all. That incarnation had met a violent end, one that could have been avoided if Yubel had been by hir side. But after years without Yubel, xe hadn't had much will to live left anyway. Better to move on and start over.

And Nitya must have been the luckiest of all, because Yubel had been with her since she'd been born in a remote area of South India. No more searching, no long years knowing someone was missing, but never remembering who.

But even though Yubel was by her side, the cards in Yuuki Juudai's deck had disappeared without a trace. So when Nitya turned twenty, she left home and started looking. It wasn't easy. Yuuki Juudai had long outlived his friends and the importance of the cards in his deck had been lost to most people. Disturbing, but at least most of the cards hadn't been dangerous.

Most of them.

"Super Fusion," Nitya said. They were holed up in a youth hostel in downtown Chengdu, tiny but mercifully clean. Her roommates were out and she and Yubel had claimed the top bunk. "We have to find it first. Who knows who has it now."

Yubel nodded. "It should not have gotten lost. We set up security measures."

But they'd already checked those, and the card had slipped between the cracks. Those measures were at least thirty years old. The Gentle Darkness had waited a few years before taking on another mortal form.

"Best case scenario, it's in some rich idiot's safe and no one knows what it can do." Nitya closed her eyes. Yubel ran a hand through her hair and started braiding it.

"Worst?"

"Worst case scenario, someone does know what it can do and the world's in very big trouble."

It turned out to be neither. They finally tracked down a woman who claimed to know about the whereabouts of Super Fusion. Nitya made the lights go out for a bit and Yubel put in a strategic appearance, and after that, their informant was amazingly helpful. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to provide them with the exact location of the Fallguys, as she called them. And Nitya had seen enough terrified people to last her several lifetimes, so she and Yubel decided to set out on their own. They had names and they had an approximate location.

Heartland City was far too bright and cheerful for Nitya. Something was brewing under the surface, and it was going to explode very soon. Nitya resolved to keep an eye on the city, but there was little she could do without her complete deck. No, her first priority was Super Fusion. Fortunately, the World Dueling Carnival meant that no one was surprised to see another foreigner walking around. Nitya wasn't quite as interested in dueling as her predecessor had been, but she still took some time off to follow the tournament. So many strong duelists, so many interesting people... Some a bit more interesting than others.

"What do you think of the kids?" she asked Yubel, idly turning up the volume on the TV that was airing a recap the preliminary rounds.

"Not all of them are human," came Yubel's reply. Nitya laughed.

"We're in no position to throw stones."

But it was true. Nitya had become very good at sensing who was born human and who wasn't. And the Shark kid, for one, definitely wasn't.

"It's not our problem, is it? We can always help them if they're in trouble." She switched channels. "Hey, have you seen that Anna girl?"

Like all cities, Heartland City had its shadier districts. Nitya was honestly relieved. The bright colors had been getting to her. Here, in the small streets and alleyways covered by shadows, she felt far more at home. Anyone else would have been wary. Nitya had never had a reason to be.

"Through here," Yubel said, several steps ahead of her. Nitya ducked under a steel girder and followed her through the door of a dilapidated house. At least, that was what it looked like from the outside. Once inside, Nitya whistled.

"These guys must have some good sponsors."

Their access was blocked by a heavy steel door, equipped with one of the ultra-modern holographic keypads usually installed by some of the most high-tech places she'd visited. Fingerprinting, retinal scan and most assuredly an eight-character password containing at least three numbers and a capital letter. The keyboard still had masking tape on it. This gang had only recently gotten their money.

"So how do we get in?"

"You could ask," Yubel offered. Nitya shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" She knocked. The ambient noise disappeared right away. They'd heard her and were pretending very hard that they hadn't.

"Hello?" she called. "My partner and I were wondering if you knew anything about rare cards."

Silence on the other end of the door. Then, at long last, "How'd you find us?"

"Oh, we had a source." A very, very terrified source. "See, I was thinking about building a Fusion deck? But all Fusion cards are just so weak, you know? So I really need something more... super."

"Subtle," said Yubel.

"I'd like to see you try."

Again, it took several long seconds before they got a reply. "We don't deal in cards," a gruff man told her. Nitya bit her lip. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and turned to Yubel.

"I'm going in. They can't say we didn't try to be polite."

Teleportation had been easy once she'd gotten the hang of it. She just needed a convenient shadow, and this building had plenty of them. With Yubel right next to her, she stepped to the side, away from the door and into the corner of what passed for the hallway, and turned.

Instantly, she found herself on the receiving end of several guns. She wished she could say it was the first time that had happened in this lifetime.

"Hello again! Sorry for dropping in like this, but I'd really like to discuss that card."

"How'd you get in here?" a dark-skinned man asked. Jackal, if her source had been correct. He desperately needed to learn how to button a shirt.

Yubel nudged her towards the man standing to the side. He didn't have the sheer size that Jackal did, but the other two seemed to defer to him. Wolf.

_That's him._

Nitya nodded. There were three men, two of them bigger and probably stronger than her, but Yubel clearly didn't deem them enough of a threat to become visible. That meant Nitya could have fun with them. She opened her hands, palms upwards, and took the opportunity to study the room. Not quite as sophisticated as the steel door she'd just bypassed; all their money must've gone there. Off-white walls with no windows, a few heavy chairs, a table, a large safe, and several doors leading to other areas of the house. She could feel Super Fusion's presence emanate from the deck holder on the table. Briefly she debated sealing off the room, but she was only here for Super Fusion. If they wanted to run, she had no problem with that.

"Who are you?" One of the other two shouted. Nitya repressed the urge to sigh. She could hear just fine, and if he kept waving his gun around like that, he'd probably take himself out before Nitya could.

"Ah, right, name's Nitya. I teleported."

"Listen here, missy—"

Nitya closed her hands. The room went pitch-black.

"No, I think you need to listen." A bullet ricocheted, but Nitya had already moved to the other side of the room. Yubel, still unseen, did away with the guns. "Wolf, is it? I know your type. You don't ask questions as long as you get paid, don't you? And if you get a shipment of rare cards, you'll take them. Do you have any idea of the power you are holding?"

Nitya allowed some of the light in the room to return. Just enough so they could see the shine of gold in her eyes. Just enough so the shadow of Yubel's wings was magnified tenfold.

One of the men made a break for the steel door. Yubel cut him off.

"You shall not be leaving. I will ask again: Do you have any idea of the power you hold?"

"Who are you?" the smallest one whispered. Nitya drew herself up to her full height.

"I am Nitya. I am the Forever Born and the Incarnation of Darkness." She let the light dim again. "Super Fusion is the most dangerous card ever created. Its mere existence can destroy worlds. It is dripping with the blood of a million people, all slaughtered for the very purpose of creating this one, single card. Do you wish to know who created it?"

They were all cowering now. It really had been a while since she'd had so much fun with people. Wolf, the one who had Super Fusion, was edging away from the table with his deck on it. None of them even answered her question.

"I did," she told them. "Millions of souls, and Super Fusion still wants more power. Would you like to be a part of it?"

Yubel glanced at her, surprised. Nitya almost winced. Maybe she'd overdone it a bit. As a compromise, she let one of the doors open. The men didn't need to be told twice.

Nitya watched them run, shook her head and let the light in the room return in full.

"You went too far, Nitya," Yubel said. Nitya ran her teeth over her lower lip and picked up the abandoned deck.

"I'm sorry," she said. For all that she and Yuuki Juudai had the same soul, Nitya had no real memory of creating Super Fusion. She only knew Juudai had done it, which meant she had, too. But Yubel knew how bad it had been and how Juudai had agonized over it. "You know I would never kill them."

"I know. Tone it down a bit in the future, okay?"

"I will." She finally located Super Fusion and put it in the inner pocket of her jacket. She'd need to buy a deck holder if she wanted to rebuild her deck. Carrying Super Fusion so close to her body wasn't comfortable anyway. It might be one of her cards, but it was blood-soaked and dangerous.

She teleported straight out of the room, and then out of Heartland City altogether. Maybe she could go to Neo Domino. She had a good feeling about it.

"You know, you could've just teleported in, taken the card and left again."

Nitya buried herself in Yubel's arms. "Oh, I know. But where's the fun in that?"


End file.
